Lateral entry an attack on Constitution: Rahul

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 18

Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday voiced concern over the lateral entry of individuals into senior government posts and said PM Modi was attacking the Constitution by recruiting public servants through the RSS instead of UPSC.

Gandhi’s statement comes in response to the Modi government’s fresh push for lateral entry, where 45 specialists will join key positions such as joint secretaries, directors, and deputy secretaries across various Central ministries. “Reservation of SC, ST and OBC categories is being openly snatched away by recruiting through lateral entry on important posts in various ministries of the Centre,” Gandhi said.

“I have always said that the underprivileged are not represented in all the top positions in the country, including the top bureaucracy. Instead of improving this, they are being pushed further away from top positions through lateral entry,” he wrote on X.

The Congress leader said a prime example of what representatives of a few corporates will do by occupying key government positions is Sebi, where for the first time a person from the private sector has been made the chairperson. He was referring to the appointment of Madhabi Puri Buch, who is facing allegations of conflict of interest following a report from US short-seller Hindenburg Research.

“INDIA will strongly oppose this anti-national move which hurts both the administrative structure and social justice. Privatisation of IAS is Modi’s guarantee to end reservation,” he wrote.